


For Any Reason

by ShutUpandPull



Category: Castle
Genre: Caskett, F/M, Gift, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-29
Updated: 2016-12-29
Packaged: 2018-09-13 05:56:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 558
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9109582
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShutUpandPull/pseuds/ShutUpandPull
Summary: Mini-Fic #10: For Rick, any day is a good day to celebrate Kate.





	

Rick handed Kate the elegantly wrapped box with childlike exuberance, the euphoria created by his third glass of wine having heightened his already palpable excitement.

“What’s this, Castle?” she said, sounding more suspicious than confused - and for good reason, given his historical proclivity for rather unconventional surprises.

“You’ve had much training, Detective, and you’ve seen many things. Surely you recognize a gift box when you’re handed one,” he responded with a chuckle, clearly more amused by himself than she was, given her flat expression. After all, she’d only had benefit of a glass and a half.

“How about you leave the sarcasm to those of us who know when best to use it, Castle,” Kate scolded, albeit in playful tone, before turning her attention back to the box. It was light in her hand and she gave it a shake - searching for clues, as detectives always did. “Are you going to tell me what this is all about?” she prodded, Rick’s face all but consumed by the goofiest of grins.

“Would you please just open it,” he sighed, almost in a whine. “You’re killing my buzz.”

Kate crinkled her face in displeasure. “Well, since you put it so nicely,” she grumbled, lobbing back a touch of her own bite. At last, she took her fingers to the silver ribbon and pulled it loose, the shiny wrapping beneath giving way to a flat, white box, free of any markings. A small card was placed upon the tissue paper inside and she read it aloud:

        _I still can’t beLEAF you’re mine_. _Happy Arbor Day_. 

_Always,_

_R_

“Arbor Day, Castle? You got me a gift for Arbor Day?” she said quizzically.

“Kate,” Rick began, in a far more earnest tone than she expected, “if you think I’m going to pass up _any_ opportunity at all to celebrate you, you’ve wildly underestimated me and my sentimentality.”

She felt a smile hit her eyes. “Well, Castle, that’s--”

“Yes? Keep going,” Rick broke in with impatience born of alcohol-enhanced conceit.

“You know, I might need to see some identification here, lightweight. Are you sure you’re old enough to drink?” Kate quipped, taking aim at his demeanor as she peeled back the tissue paper to reveal his unexpected token. “Castle,” she said, her fingers exploring the satin of the emerald green lingerie, “this is beautiful.”

“Do you like it?” he beamed, full of hope.

“No, I love it,” she replied with a firm kiss to his wine-warm lips. “Thank you.”

“And did you notice the holiday-appropriate color selection - green for trees?”

“I did, Castle, yes,” Kate giggled, pausing as she glanced down at the discarded box and wrapping. “Of course, I guess an apology might be in order to the trees that were chopped down in order to make _those_ , huh?” she said, causing his prideful smile to slowly droop.

“Well, I--I…” Rick stammered, absent any valid retort.

“I’m just teasing you, Castle,” she said, caressing his knee before pushing up from the couch, her new gift in one hand, wine glass in the other. “We’ll go and plant a tree tomorrow or something. Right now, though, I’d like to take this into the bedroom and try it on for you…so you can then take it off me.”

“Happy Arbor Day to me, too, it seems,” Rick whispered as she tiptoed merrily away.


End file.
